Waking up in a 3D-printed dome, playing low-gravity basketball and farming alien crops for a living… what a typical day will look like once humans colonise Mars

By 2040, early pioneers could be living on the first Mars colony

By George Harrison

23rd October 2017, 2:05 pm

Updated: 23rd October 2017, 10:49 pm

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Homes of the future will eventually become interconnected domes, as depicted in Nasa's conceptual designs

YOU get in from a long day of farming in near-zero gravity, ditch your spacesuit at the airlock and write an email to your fans on Earth, all before settling down for the night in your radiation-proof home.

The year is 2040 and you're one of the first pioneers living on the Mars colony.

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The first colonists could land on Mars in just over a decade's time, with a proper settlement established by 2050

That's how some of the foremost experts on space colonisation see the next few decades unfolding, as humans push towards becoming an interplanetary species.

Bill Hargenrader, SciFi Author and founder of the Mars NOW research organisation, told the Sun Online that the first Martian explorers could land just over ten years from now.

Like many Mars experts, he sees a future where humans will take on the harsh conditions of the Red Planet to forge a prosperous life away from the oasis of Earth.

But it won't be easy for the brave colonists who buy the first one-way tickets into space.

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Nasa has already landed rovers on Mars, and expects to launch the first human mission in the late 2030s

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Homes of the future will eventually become interconnected domes, as depicted in Nasa's conceptual designs

Bill said: "Mars is a lot colder than Earth, it's one per cent of the atmospheric pressure, it's 38 per cent of the gravity and it has no protection from cosmic radiation.

"The first structures will be the actual space craft the pioneers will land in. The next steps will be to use the Martian soil itself to tunnel or utilise cave structures.

"In addition, we're looking at using 3D printing to create bricks and other structures."

Robert Zubrin, Mars Society President and author of The Case for Mars, argues that the next steps will see us building the dome-shaped homes we've already seen in science fiction and Nasa concept art.

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Early Martian homes will utilise the pioneers' space craft themselves, but later designs will be more sophisticated

NASA/KSC

Nasa has already released a series of incredible concept posters to get would-be settlers thinking about life on Mars

He said: "The first houses will probably be domed tuna can-shaped structures, similar to the Mars Society's desert and arctic stations.

"Afterwards, Martians will produce materials to create domes up to perhaps 100m in diameter, within which people, plants, and animals will be able to live in a shirt-sleeve environment.

"These domes will then be linked together by tunnels, to create large habitable zones.

"Ultimately humans will terraform Mars and make the whole planet habitable."

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Nasa is already seriously thinking about its first manned Mars expeditions, scheduled for the 2030s

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The space agency will need ambitious colonists with a variety of essential skills to make their manned missions a success

It may sound like the work of science fiction, but the Mars dream is very real for many in the space game.

Nasa has set out an ambitious plan to launch its first human Mars mission in the 2030s, while Elon Musk's SpaceX is aiming to have Mars-ready rockets good to go by 2024.

And Nasa is so keen to excite people about life on Mars that they have cooked up a series of posters to entice would-be colonists to seriously think about leaving the Earth behind.

As part of their ongoing drive, the US space agency has also released incredible concept shots depicting what they think the Martian homes of the future will look like.

NASA/KSC

Farming on Mars will be done indoors, most likely using genetically modified crops

Nasa supersonic parachute will help humans land on Mars

But finding somewhere to hang your helmet is just the start of it.

Bill said: "If you're one of the first settlers then be prepared to work. There will be a lot of building, mining and repairing."

On Mars, there's no room for slackers. Only the hardest working people with the most relevant skills, like doctors and engineers, will survive.

But settlers will also need to grow their own food, and many of the first pioneers will work as farmers - using the most advanced agricultural techniques to produce nutritious meals.

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Martian farmers can use the vertical agriculture technology which already exists on Earth

Working as a Martian farmer, you wouldn't spend your days tending the fields - because there won't be any.

Instead, you'd work in a high-tech greenhouse, growing genetically engineered crops designed to pack the biggest nutritional punch.

Bill said: "It'll be extremely important to become self-sustaining. One of the ways to do that is indoor vertical farming.

"We'd focus on spinach and lettuces, food which give our meals bulk, and also on strawberries, potatoes and things that add calories."

NASA/KSC

As time goes on, we'll need a mix of professions to make the Mars colony a success

Day-to-day life will be tough, with increased cancer risks from solar radiation and the danger of malnutrition around every corner.

But life will be rewarding too.

Robert, who thinks settlers will start landing in 2040, said: "It will probably be like life on a frontier farm, with kids helping out and learning around the house, rather than spending all their time at school or at play.

"A very different childhood that most today experience, but possibly much richer."

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Some experts believe we'll be best off tunnelling into the Martian dirt and living underground at first